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http://www.rightbrainsolution.com/images/logo.gifar-joThu, 14 Dec 2017 04:26:31 +0200http://tagitnews.com/article/35417/E-government-Committee%2C-TAGKF-Discusses-Obstacles-for-Implementing-e-government--
2017-12-13 09:43:47
Special to TAG-IT News Agency
AMMAN- One of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum (TAGKF)’s committees, The E-government Committee, held numerous meetings to discuss means and barriers for the complete application of e-government at various institutions and departments.
The committee stressed the significance of digital government services for the elimination of administrative corruption and combatting favoritism and nepotism. The committee is headed by Nidal Bitar, Executive Director & CEO of the Information and Communications Technology Association of Jordan (int@j), and with membership of Eng. Sami Al Dabbas, Eng. Samer Al-Hamarneh, Mr. Nidal Abou El Foul, Eng. Ahmed Abu Kaoud, Dr. Emad Al - Mualla, Mr. Ibrahim Almubaidin, Mr. Ibrahim Al-Khuraisat, Eng. Nasser Saleh, Eng. Islam Al Heramashah, Mr. Faisal Al-Tamimi, Dr. Nehaih Hammoud and Eng. Mohamed Nakhalah.
The members of the committee stressed the necessity for reviewing and enacting laws and legislations regulating the function of e-government. They also affirmed the importance of providing awareness-raising and educational programs to inform citizens about the significance of technology as a means to facilitate daily life. They also highlighted the necessity for the provision of training programs for employees on the use of technology in a bid to help them accomplish their tasks efficiently and to reassure them that electronic services aren't replacing them, but helping them in their tasks.
According to the statements, (to date), the government provides at least 2,000 government services. Around 150 e-services have been launched, however, most of them are not user-friendly, and they are not from a single platform.
The members affirmed the importance of introducing a single platform to launch electronic services for citizens either through the computer or the smartphone to help them access and avail multiple e -services. Providing and delivering prompt and effective e-services through a single platform will eliminate the need for citizens to visit multiple websites, and any changes or developments in government services can be dealt with efficiently and promptly through a single platform. They also confirmed the necessity for the activation of a Public-Private Partnership Unit, citing that the private sector is now providing electronic services at its institutions or at universities. Hence, the implementation of e-government services must be accelerated to be in line with the private sector.
All members also underlined the necessity of promoting e-services for citizens in a deliberate clear scientific method.
They agreed that the incapacity hasn’t been caused by techniques or lack of efficiency, but rather by the lack of strong, real will of the decision makers, as well as the impairment of administrative and financial structures applied in e-government programs for the efficient, quick and ongoing fulfillment of all services provided to .... ]]>http://tagitnews.com/cache_news/news_thumb/869f9e0725ea37cc738b4517f988dbde_w120_h300_cp_sc.jpgTAGIT News Agencyhttp://tagitnews.com/article/35416/Apple-and-Chicago-Join-Forces-to-Bring-Coding-Opportunities-to-City%E2%80%99s-Students
2017-12-13 09:24:11
CHICAGO - Apple announced in a press release that it is working with the city of Chicago to bring coding opportunities to Chicago’s nearly 500,000 students through a citywide expansion of Apple’s Everyone Can Code program.
The initiative in Chicago was designed in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, City Colleges of Chicago, local businesses and non-profit organizations. Together, Apple and local organizations are helping expand opportunities for students to build the skills they need to pursue careers in the app economy by becoming proficient in Swift, Apple’s easy-to-learn programming language that empowers anyone to create world-class apps.
“At Apple we believe coding is an essential skill, so we’ve designed Everyone Can Code to give everyone the power to learn, write and teach coding,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re thrilled to be working with our friends and partners in the great city of Chicago on this initiative. Together with Mayor Emanuel, Chicago Public Schools and City Colleges, we look forward to helping students learn Swift and build the skills they need to thrive in today’s workplace.”
Starting this spring, Chicago Public Schools and City Colleges of Chicago will expand Everyone Can Code curriculum and materials to reach students citywide. For the first time, City Colleges of Chicago will offer the innovative App Development with Swift curriculum, helping students build skills around coding and app development.
Chicago Public Schools will also offer new Swift Coding Clubs, which bring coding education to after-school programs. Swift Coding Clubs guide students through key coding concepts, introduce them to Swift and walk them through an app design and prototyping project.
Apple and local businesses, including GE Transportation, IBM, Jellyvision, Lextech, McDonald’s, Rush University Medical Center, Ulta Beauty and United Airlines will add volunteer opportunities for their Chicago-based employees to help support students. Additionally, 1871, One Summer Chicago and other Chicago-based businesses will offer more than 100 internships to high school and college students who have completed the Everyone Can Code curriculum.
“Coding is not just a critical skill in today’s economy, it is another outlet for students to expand their horizons and explore their creativity,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “Everyone Can Code is an incredible opportunity for young people across Chicago to learn the language of the future, sharpen their minds and develop the skill sets needed to compete and win in the 21st century.”
“Everyone Can Code gives students opportunities to learn new skills and develop a strong foundation in STEM to prepare them for a successful future in the 21st-century economy,” said Dr. Janice K. Jackson, acting Chief Executive Officer at Chicago Public Schools. “This initiative introduces coding curriculum that develops core skills, creativity, collaboration and problem solving, which will help lay the groundwork for a successful future.”
Apple provides learning experiences for coding in all Apple Stores. New App Development Design sessions also premiered at Apple Michigan Avenue this fall.
Everyone Can Code is a program designed by Apple to help everyone learn how to code, creating opportunities for all students and preparing them for the workforce. The comprehensive program includes a range of free resources, from helping students explore basic coding concepts to building fully functional apps.
Swift is Apple’s powerful and intuitive programming language that gives developers the freedom and capabilities they need to create the next generation of cutting-edge software. Popular apps including Airbnb, KAYAK, TripAdvisor, Venmo and Yelp are all created with Swift.
The app economy has generated more than 1.5 million jobs in the US and more than 64,000 jobs in Illinois alone. The demand for coding skills continues to grow, with more than 500,000 programming and coding positions available in the US as of August 2017. Since the launch of the App Store in 2008, US app developers have earned over $16 billion in App Store .... ]]>Applehttp://tagitnews.com/article/35415/Dubai-Customs-Signs-Agreement-to-Provide-IT-Expertise-to-Dubai-Municipality
2017-12-03 08:37:51
DUBAI - In fulfilment of Smart Dubai initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and to enhance ties amongst government departments of Dubai, Dubai Customs signed a cooperation agreement with Dubai Municipality which will see it provide the Municipality with methodology and mechanisms adopted at Dubai Customs’ IT Department. According to Dubai Customs, this serves the trend of turning Dubai into the happiest and smartest city in the world. The offering includes processes, models, designs, and practices.
The agreement was signed by Juma Al Ghaith, Executive Director of Customs Development Division at Dubai Customs and Ahmed Obeid Al Falasi, Assistant Director-General for Corporate Support Sector at Dubai Municipality.
Juma Al Ghaith received Dubai Municipality’s delegation and reaffirmed the significance of mutual cooperation and exchange of knowledge and experience between Dubai government departments, saying that Dubai Customs follows the latest international standards in developing its projects following the vision of Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which aims to make people’s lives easier and enabling their happiness.
On his part, Ahmed Al Falasi applauded this cooperation between the two leading government departments which will lead to exchange of best practices, knowledge and experience.
He said: “We want to benefit from Dubai Customs’ experience in IT field and how they handle and design their projects. Dubai Customs, according to this agreement will provide the training plus the technical support to facilitate the application of .... ]]>Dubai Customshttp://tagitnews.com/article/35414/Apple-Heart-Study-Launches-to-Identify-Irregular-Heart-Rhythms
2017-12-03 08:32:08
CUPERTINO, California - Apple launched the Apple Heart Study app, a first-of-its-kind research study using Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor to collect data on irregular heart rhythms and notify users who may be experiencing atrial fibrillation (AFib).
According to a press release by Apple, AFib, the leading cause of stroke, is responsible for approximately 130,000 deaths and 750,000 hospitalizations in the US every year. Many people don’t experience symptoms, so AFib often goes undiagnosed.
To calculate heart rate and rhythm, Apple Watch’s sensor uses green LED lights flashing hundreds of times per second and light-sensitive photodiodes to detect the amount of blood flowing through the wrist. The sensor’s unique optical design gathers signals from four distinct points on the wrist, and when combined with powerful software algorithms, Apple Watch isolates heart rhythms from other noise. The Apple Heart Study app uses this technology to identify an irregular heart rhythm.
“Every week we receive incredible customer letters about how Apple Watch has affected their lives, including learning that they have AFib. These stories inspire us and we're determined to do more to help people understand their health,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s COO. “Working alongside the medical community, not only can we inform people of certain health conditions, we also hope to advance discoveries in heart science.”
Apple is partnering with Stanford Medicine to perform the research. As part of the study, if an irregular heart rhythm is identified, participants will receive a notification on their Apple Watch and iPhone, a free consultation with a study doctor and an electrocardiogram (ECG) patch for additional monitoring. The Apple Heart Study app is available in the US App Store to customers who are 22 years or older and have an Apple Watch Series 1 or later.
“Through the Apple Heart Study, Stanford Medicine faculty will explore how technology like Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor can help usher in a new era of proactive health care central to our Precision Health approach,” said Lloyd Minor, Dean of Stanford University School of Medicine. “We’re excited to work with Apple on this breakthrough heart study.”
Doctors and medical researchers around the world have been using iPhone and Apple Watch to revolutionize medical studies. Apps created with Apple’s ResearchKit platform, a software tool researchers use to conduct studies, have produced insights and discoveries about conditions like autism and Parkinson’s disease at a pace and scale never seen before. To date, Apple’s ResearchKit and CareKit platforms have been used by over 500 researchers and more than three million .... ]]>Applehttp://tagitnews.com/article/35413/Apple-Celebrates-Hour-of-Code-at-all-Apple-Stores
2017-11-29 08:32:15
CUPERTINO, California - Apple opened registration for thousands of free Hour of Code sessions available at all Apple Stores from December 4 through 10. The company also introduced a new educational challenge in Swift Playgrounds and added new teacher resources to the Everyone Can Code curriculum to help teach Swift, Apple’s easy-to-learn programming language that anyone can use to create world-class apps.
For the fifth year, Apple Stores will participate in Hour of Code with daily coding sessions in celebration of Computer Science Education Week. Young aspiring coders can learn coding basics during a Kids Hour session, while those age twelve and above can use Swift Playgrounds on iPad to learn coding concepts and even program robots. According to Apple, new Teacher Tuesdays session helps educators learn how to teach code to students using new resources and discussion topics.
A brand-new Hour of Code challenge in the Swift Playgrounds app invites students to build a digital robot and customize it with new parts including cyborg eyes and electric hula hoop arms. Swift Playgrounds is available as a free download in the App Store in 15 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and Japanese.
Apple’s new Everyone Can Code curriculum includes a free Hour of Code guide featuring the new Swift Playgrounds challenge to make it easy to get started teaching code in schools, community centers and after-school programs. Schools can easily host their own one-hour Hour of Code event anytime simply by downloading the Swift Playgrounds app and Hour of Code .... ]]>Applehttp://tagitnews.com/article/35412/Microsoft-and-SAP-Join-Forces-to-Give-Customers-a-Trusted-Path-to-Digital-Transformation-in-the-Cloud
2017-11-28 17:29:59
REDMOND, Wash., and WALLDORF, Germany - Microsoft Corp. and SAP SE announced integrated offerings to provide enterprise customers with a clear road map to confidently drive more business innovation in the cloud. In a bold show of commitment, the two companies also announced they will be deploying each other’s cloud solutions internally, a press release by Microsoft stated. Through their unique partnership, the companies will co-engineer, go to market together with premier solutions and provide joint support services to ensure the best cloud experience for customers.
SAP HANA® Enterprise Cloud — SAP’s private managed cloud service — on Microsoft Azure will allow customers to run SAP S/4HANA in a secure, managed cloud. Additionally, Microsoft will deploy SAP S/4HANA® on Azure to help run its own internal finance processes, and SAP will move its key internal business critical systems to Azure. Finally, SAP Ariba is currently utilizing Azure and is exploring further use within its procurement applications. Together, SAP and Microsoft will help companies make the most of running SAP applications in the cloud.
“As technology transforms every business and every industry, organizations are looking for the right platforms and trusted partners to help accelerate their digital transformation,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “Building on our longtime partnership, Microsoft and SAP are harnessing each other’s products to not only power our own organizations, but to empower our enterprise customers to run their most mission-critical applications and workloads with SAP S/4HANA on Azure.”
Enterprise companies are increasingly moving business-critical systems to the cloud for the benefits digital transformation provides: better customer relationships, more empowered employees, streamlined operations, new business models, and new products and services. According to research firm Gartner Inc., two-thirds of all business leaders believe that their companies must pick up the pace of digitalization to remain competitive.* As leaders in enterprise software, SAP and Microsoft are aligning closely to provide customers with the safe and trusted path to digital transformation.
“We are taking our partnership to the next level with this new capability to run SAP S/4HANA in the Microsoft Azure environment,” said SAP CEO Bill McDermott. “The world’s significant businesses trust Microsoft and SAP. Together, we will help companies win the customer-driven growth revolution.”
SAP and Microsoft both will run SAP S/4HANA on Azure for their internal operations. Microsoft is transforming its internal systems — which include legacy SAP finance applications — and will implement the SAP S/4HANA Finance solution running on Azure. Microsoft also plans to connect SAP S/4HANA to Azure AI and analytics services for more efficient financial reporting and more powerful decision-making. SAP is migrating more than a dozen business-critical systems to Azure for the optimal efficiencies, flexibility and innovation the platform offers. This includes the SAP S/4HANA software supporting Concur, an SAP company.
Both companies will document the internal projects to provide customers with guidance and enterprise architecture for deployment of SAP applications on Azure.
With SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud on Azure, customers get the best of both worlds: application management and product expertise from SAP and a global, trusted and intelligent cloud from Microsoft Azure, including the range of Microsoft cloud services.
Enterprise customers of all types, such as The Coca-Cola Company, Columbia Sportswear Company, Coats and Costco Wholesale Corp., count on SAP and Azure today for their businesses.
“The strategic partnership announced between Microsoft and SAP is an extremely important development for the Coca-Cola System,” said Barry Simpson, senior vice president and chief information officer at The Coca-Cola Company. “The value of aligned engineering, sales and delivery between these two strategic partners will allow our system to accelerate our digital agenda. This is a very positive and exciting development for us.”
“SAP and Microsoft are key partners with Costco, and this alliance will help drive our cloud strategy and digital business forward,” said Jim Rutherford, senior vice president of Information Systems at Costco Wholesale.
“Microsoft and SAP are strategic partners helping us grow our wholesale and direct-to-consumer businesses. Their close alignment is an integral part of advancing our technical architecture and cloud strategy to better serve our customers around the world,” said Mike Hirt, vice president and chief information officer at Columbia Sportswear Company. “We produce innovative products that allow our customers to pursue and enjoy their outdoor passions. Our partnership with Microsoft and SAP is essential to us continuing to deliver on that commitment.”
“With SAP HANA on Azure, we have the data intelligence to operate more efficiently across all aspects of our business and accelerate the delivery of finished goods to our customers,” said Hizmy Hassen, chief digital and technology officer, Coats. “The Microsoft and SAP alliance provides us with the assurance we need for our innovation in the .... ]]>Microsofthttp://tagitnews.com/article/35410/TAG-Org-Opens-a-Knowledge-Society-at-Jordanian-National-Forum-for-Women-Head-Office-in-Ma%26%23039%3Ban
2017-11-28 09:00:31
Special to TAG-IT News Agency
Ma'an- TAG-Org has recently opened a Knowledge Society at the Jordanian National Forum for Women Head Office in Ma'an equipped with supplies and equipment for the provision of computer skills training to young women in the Ma'an Governorate.
Establishing this Knowledge Society comes as part of TAG-Org initiatives through Talal Abu Ghazaleh Knowledge Society (TAG-Knowledge) to establish knowledge societies in various regions of the Kingdom based on TAG-Org's principles of social responsibility and to provide opportunities for capacity building, particularly for the youth category.
Mrs. Fadwa Al Snaid, Rapporteur of the Jordanian National Forum for Women in Ma'an, addressed an appreciation letter to HE Dr. Talal Abu Ghazaleh in which she stressed the significance of the role played by TAG-Org, represented by its Chairman HE Dr. Abu Ghazaleh, in supporting and assisting the country to further advance and develop and lend a helping hand to its citizens to achieve the highest level of progress.
She further underscored the importance of the Knowledge Society Hall established by TAG-Org which is equipped with computers and is dedicated to providing computer skills training to the young women of the governorate.
TAG-Knowledge is one of the arms of TAG-Org through which it implements its central goals by supporting youth skills development and capacity building to contribute to and create a more productive and competitive knowledge-based .... ]]>http://tagitnews.com/cache_news/news_thumb/47fc61fbe6e7b2f8da9c4dab8474649b_w120_h300_cp_sc.jpgTAGIT News Agencyhttp://tagitnews.com/article/35409/Gartner-Survey-Highlights-the-Developing-Role-of-the-Chief-Information-Officer-in-India
2017-11-21 11:02:58
GOA, India - Digitalization and technological innovation are changing the nature of the job of the CIO, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner's annual global survey of CIOs showed that the CIO role is transitioning from delivery executive to business executive, from controlling cost and engineering processes, to driving revenue and exploiting data. According to Gartner, CIOs are increasingly taking on roles and responsibilities outside traditional IT, with 51 percent of CIOs surveyed in India reporting that they are taking charge of innovation and 49 percent indicating that they are heading up digital transformation.
Gartner analysts presented the survey findings during Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, which is taking place here through Thursday. The 2018 Gartner CIO Agenda Survey gathered data from a record number of 3,160 CIO respondents in 98 countries and all major industries, representing approximately $13 trillion in revenue/public sector budgets and $277 billion in IT spending. There were 59 CIO respondents in India, representing approximately $543 billion in revenue/public sector budgets and $3.8 billion in IT spending. For the purposes of the survey, respondents were categorized as top, typical and trailing performers in digitalization.
The survey results show that, overall, 95 percent of CIOs expect their jobs to change or be remixed due to digitalization. While world-class IT delivery management is a given, it will take up less and less of the CIO's time. Respondents believe that the two biggest transformations in the CIO role will be becoming a change leader, followed by assuming increased and broader responsibilities and capabilities. Inevitably, the job of CIO will extend beyond the traditional delivery roles to other areas of the business, such as innovation management and talent development.
"The CIO's role must grow and develop as digital business spreads, and disruptive technologies, including intelligent machines and advanced analytics, reach the masses," said Andy Rowsell-Jones, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "While delivery is still a part of the job, far greater emphasis is being placed on attaining a much broader set of business objectives."
Respond to Trends
The survey findings showed that a majority of CIOs say that technology trends, specifically cybersecurity and artificial intelligence(AI), will significantly change how they do their jobs in the near future. Cybersecurity will continue to threaten the global landscape in 2018, and 94 percent of Indian CIOs surveyed said they expect cybersecurity threats to increase and impact their organization.
"In response to these concerns, the survey found that digital security ranks high on the CIO agenda as 71 percent of global respondents and 74 percent of Indian respondents said they have deployed or are in short-term planning for deployment of some aspect of digital security," said Mr. Rowsell-Jones. "CIOs are also increasingly adopting AI in their organizations. Forty percent of Indian CIOs surveyed have already deployed or are in short-term planning to deploy AI, compared to 25 percent of global CIOs."
The survey found that growth is the No. 1 CIO priority for 2018, as reported by 26 percent of CIOs globally. However in India, CIOs reported optimizing enterprise operational excellence (66 percent), tracking business value of IT (64 percent) and business cost optimization (62 percent) as the their top priorities.
The good news for CIOs in India is that more money will be available to support these priorities. IT budgets in India are expected to increase 7.4 percent in 2018. This compares to an expected 3 percent IT budget increase globally.
Define the role focus attention beyond IT
At least 84 percent of all top CIOs surveyed have responsibility for areas of the business outside traditional IT. The most common are innovation and transformation. Fifty one percent of respondents in India said that the CIO in their organization is in charge of innovation while 49 percent said the CIO heads up digital transformation and 30 percent said the CIO leads enterprise change.
The survey found that CIOs are spending more time on the business executive elements of their jobs compared with three years ago. In fact, CIOs from top performing organizations are spending up to four days more on executive leadership. The more mature an enterprise's digital business is, the more likely the CIO will report to the CEO.
In a change from previous surveys, respondents were asked to name the top differentiating technologies (in previous years they were asked about investment levels). Business intelligence (BI) and analytics still retain the No 1 spot, with top performers most likely to consider them strategic.
"This new focus represents an opportunity for the CIO to become more deeply involved in this differentiating technology," said Mr. Rowsell-Jones. "Data and insight drive the creation, delivery and life cycle of digital products and services. Flow of information in the context of user interactions leads to better engagement and value creation for all parties. Analytics connect the CIO and the IT organization to far-flung parts of the organization where they can cultivate new relationships."
Implement the new role
Seventy-nine percent of CIOs report that digital business is making their IT organizations more "change-ready," which suggests that now is a good time to implement change to the IT organizations, and, in turn, should make the transition to the new job of the CIO easier.
The first part of the new job of the CIO is to build the required bench strength to scale the enterprise's digital business through support for the digital ecosystem. This means hiring new resources to put in place the right digital team structures. Some CIOs favor a separate digital team while others make digitalization part of the day job of IT and the enterprise. However, 71 percent of the top performers have a separate digital team to help them scale their digitalization efforts. The most common structure for these teams is to report to the CIO, although the biggest difference between the top performers and their peers is in the CEO reporting relationship of these teams.
"The effects of digitalization are profound. The impact on the job of CIO and on the IT organization itself should not be underestimated," said Mr. Rowsell-Jones. "In this new world, CIO success is not based on what they build, but the services that they integrate. The IT organization will move from manufacturer to buyer, and the CIO will become an expert orchestrator of services. The real finding though is that this is happening now, today. CIOs must start scaling their digital business and changing their own jobs with it now."
Gartner clients can learn more in the report The 2018 CIO Agenda: Mastering the New Job of the CIO.
Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the world's most important gathering of CIOs and senior IT leaders, uniting a global community of CIOs with the tools and strategies to help them lead the next generation of IT and achieve business outcomes. More than 23,000 CIOs, senior business and IT leaders worldwide will gather for the insights they need to ensure that their IT initiatives are key contributors to, and drivers of, their enterprise's .... ]]>Gartner Inc.http://tagitnews.com/article/35408/ESKADENIA-Software-Announces-its-Continued-Success-with-GIG-%E2%80%93-Jordan
2017-11-19 12:36:40
Special to TAG-IT News Agency
AMMAN - After an acknowledged partnership in providing Insurance & Business Manager Systems to (GIG – Jordan), ESKADENIA Software, the leading Jordanian-based provider of software products & technologies is proud to announce its continued success with GIG - Jordan by deploying new eight software systems 4 months after project initiation.
GIG - Jordan reason behind choosing a new set of ESKADENIA’s Enterprise, Insurance and Mobile App solutions is to empower and facilitate GIG’s entire business operations including ESKA® CRM (Customer Relationship Management), ESKA® Docs (Document Management System), ESKA® IMS (Incident Management System), ESKA® Workflow, ESKA® HR & Payroll (Recruitments), ESKA® Business Manager (Investments) , ESKA® Insures (Approval & Notification system) and a Mobile App to be accessed by public and private users.
On the other hand, the core ESKA® Insures and ESKA® Business Manager Systems were furthermore upgraded to the latest versions.
ESKADENIA® Software is a two-time MENA Award Winner & CMMI® level 3 certified company that is active in the design, development and deployment of a range of software products in the Telecommunications, Insurance, Enterprise, Education, and Internet application areas. The company is based in Jordan and has sales activities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; more than 85% of its sales are exported to the global market. ESKADENIA Software is a product and market-oriented organization that assists enterprises and promotes businesses by use of highly effective IT strategies, solutions and tools. ESKADENIA Software strongly believes that a company's achievement is based on the success of its Human Resources and the commitment to quality and excellence that each one holds strong to. ESKADENIA endeavors as a team to maintain quality and customer respect, build up perseverance, and foster innovation. For more information, please contact us at PR_communications@eskadenia.com, or visit our site, .... ]]>ESKADENIA http://tagitnews.com/article/35407/Microsoft-Announces-Azure-Databricks-Powered-by-Apache%C2%AE-Spark%2C-new-AI%2C-IoT-and-Machine-Learning-Tools-for-Developers
2017-11-16 16:22:15
NEW YORK - At Connect(); 2017, Microsoft Corp.’s annual event for professional developers, Executive Vice President Scott Guthrie announced new Microsoft data platform technologies and cross-platform developer tools. According to Microsoft, Guthrie outlined the company’s vision and shared what’s next for developers across a broad range of Microsoft and open source technologies, and how Microsoft is helping them get more done across apps or platforms. He also touched on key application scenarios and ways developers can use built-in artificial intelligence (AI) to support continuous innovation and continuous deployment of today’s intelligent applications.
“With today’s intelligent cloud, emerging technologies like AI have the potential to change every facet of how we interact with the world,” Guthrie said. “Developers are in the forefront of shaping that potential. Today at Connect(); we’re announcing new tools and services that help developers build applications and services for the AI-driven future, using the platforms, languages and collaboration tools they already know and love.”
Across devs, apps, data, platforms
Microsoft is continuing its commitment to delivering open technologies and contributing to and partnering with the open source community. New tools and partnerships are designed to help developers build intelligent, enterprise-ready and cloud-scale apps — regardless of their platform, and to give them the peace of mind with the built-in security, performance, compliance features, support and SLAs available in Azure.
Azure Databricks
• Designed in collaboration with the founders of Apache Spark, the preview of Azure Databricks is a fast, easy and collaborative Apache Spark-based analytics platform that delivers one-click setup, streamlined workflows and an interactive workspace. Native integration with Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Azure Storage, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Active Directory and Power BI simplifies the creation of modern data warehouses that enable organizations to provide self-service analytics and machine learning over all data with enterprise-grade performance and governance.
Microsoft Joins MariaDB Foundation
• Microsoft joins MariaDB Foundation as a platinum member and announces the upcoming preview of Azure Database for MariaDB for a fully managed MariaDB service in the cloud.
Azure Cosmos DB with Apache Cassandra API
• The preview expands on the multimodel capabilities of Azure Cosmos DB to offer Cassandra as a service over turnkey global distribution, multiple consistency levels and industry-leading SLAs.
GitHub Roadmap for Git Virtual File Systems (GVFS)
• Microsoft and GitHub will further their open source partnership to extend GVFS support to GitHub. GVFS is an open source extension to the Git version control system developed by Microsoft to support the world’s largest repositories.
Helping developers get more done
Microsoft is releasing tools designed to help developers, development teams and data scientists collaborate and work together more efficiently for application development, deployment and management. New tools and feature improvements help streamline essential tasks, so developers can focus more on getting apps to market across multiple platforms, and for any scenario — whether cloud, mobile or AI.
Visual Studio App Center General Availability
• New cloud service for developers to ship higher-quality applications more frequently. Objective-C, Swift, Android Java, Xamarin and React Native developers can use App Center to increase productivity and accelerate application lifecycle, freeing them to spend more time on new features and better user experiences.
Visual Studio Live Share
• Unique new capability for developers to collaborate in a seamless and secure way with full project context. With this preview, developers can share projects with teammates, or other developers, to edit and debug the same code in their personalized editor or IDE.
Azure DevOps Projects
• The preview lets developers configure a full DevOps pipeline and connect to Azure Services within five minutes for faster app development and deployment. With just a few clicks in the Azure portal, developers can set up Git repositories, wire up completely automated builds and release pipelines without any prior knowledge of how to do so.
Transforming business through analytics and AI
Advances in AI and machine learning are placing the seemingly impossible within reach. The combination of cloud services, infrastructure and tools from Microsoft are designed to help any developer embrace AI and create apps across the cloud and the edge, harnessing the power of data and AI.
Azure IoT Edge
• Azure IoT Edge preview availability, enabling AI, advanced analytics and machine learning at the Internet of Things (IoT) edge.
Azure Machine Learning updates
• Integration with Azure IoT Edge and AI deployment on iOS devices with Core ML, bringing AI everywhere from the cloud to the IoT edge of devices.
Visual Studio Tools for AI
• Developers and data scientists can develop AI models with all the productivity of Visual Studio, on frameworks and languages. Updates to .NET make it easier for .NET developers to consume AI models from their applications.
Azure SQL Database Machine Learning services preview
• Support for R models inside SQL Database makes it seamless for data scientists to develop and train models in Azure Machine Learning and deploy those models directly to Azure SQL Database to create predictions at blazing-fast .... ]]>Microsofthttp://tagitnews.com/article/35406/ICT-Leaders-to-Convene-in-Tunisia-to-Set-Global-Metrics-for-Tracking-ICT-Economic-and-Social-Impacts
2017-11-12 16:20:54
GENEVA - The 15th ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS-17) will be held November 14-16, at the Medina Convention and Exhibition Center in Hammamet, Tunisia. According to the ITU, the event brings together ICT leaders from around the globe and serves as the main international forum for telecommunication and information society measurements worldwide. A Press Conference will be held on 14 November.
Organized annually by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations' specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), this year's WTIS event is hosted by the Government of the Republic of Tunisia. WTIS is designed to identify and share metrics that measure the economic and social impacts of ICTs in the "information society" – in which society has intensified its use of ICTs for economic, social, cultural and political transformation.
WTIS‐17 will feature a high-level panel bringing together ICT ministers, technology leaders, telecommunication regulators and national statisticians to discuss the formulation and implementation of public policies to foster a healthy investment environment, especially in developing countries.
During WTIS-2017, ITU will release its annual flagship statistics publication, the Measuring the Information Society Report 2017, which features the ICT Development Index (IDI), the global benchmarking tool that tracks countries' progress in the development of their information societies. The IDI 2017 ranks 176 economies globally based on official, internationally comparable statistics.
Other sessions at WTIS-17 will focus on emerging topics such as: new metrics for broadband and cybersecurity, new data needs for the digital economy, ICT skills and e-waste, tracking the adoption of the Internet of Things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, the use of big data for measuring the information society, and smart data for smart sustainable cities.
The work of the Expert Group on Telecommunication/ICT Indicators and the Expert Group on Household Indicators will be presented for adoption by WTIS‐17.
The event will close with a multi-stakeholder panel that will discuss how emerging technologies can be transformed into economic opportunities with better .... ]]>ITUhttp://tagitnews.com/article/35405/Clips-Introduces-Selfie-Scenes-for-Immersive%2C-360-degree-Selfies-on-iPhone-X
2017-11-12 08:52:44
CUPERTINO, California - Apple announced in a press release a major update to Clips, the free app for iOS that makes it easy to create and share fun videos using iPhone or iPad. Clips introduces Selfie Scenes and adds artistic style transfer effects and a redesigned interface that makes it easier than ever to create great videos on the go.
Selfie Scenes is an exciting new feature that places users into animated, 360-degree scenes when recording selfies. Using the sophisticated TrueDepth camera system on iPhone X, Selfie Scenes transports users into bustling cities, serene landscapes, abstract paintings and even the Millennium Falcon and Mega-Destroyer from “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
“Clips users love how quick and easy it is to create amazing videos on iPhone or iPad,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Apps Product Marketing. “And we’re making it even more fun with Selfie Scenes. By harnessing the incredible new TrueDepth camera system on iPhone X, users can now record selfies against a variety of fun and whimsical backdrops with just a tap.”
With Selfie Scenes, users can choose from 10 Apple-designed scenes, featuring unique locations, characters, colors and visual styles plus two scenes from “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Each scene is a full 360-degree experience, so it surrounds users on all sides as they move iPhone X. And environmental sound effects make scenes even more immersive.
New artistic effects use advanced machine learning and style transfer technology to turn any photo or video into a moody oil painting, vibrant watercolor or elegant pencil sketch — in real time while recording. Clips also adds more content from Disney, including full-screen posters featuring Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, as well as Star Wars stickers featuring animated versions of Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Chewbacca and others. Users can also add more personality to their Clips videos with 16 new Apple-designed stickers and 21 new royalty-free soundtracks from indie artists. And, as with all Clips soundtracks, these new tracks automatically adjust to match the length of videos.
The easy-to-use interface gets even better with a streamlined design that puts frequently used controls easily within reach. A new Effects browser lets users view and choose filters, labels, stickers and emoji. Labeled buttons make it easier than ever to edit Live Titles, add or change filters, trim, mute and delete clips. And full-screen browsers allow users to see more of their content when viewing their photo library or selecting animated posters.
iCloud Support
Users can now access and edit their Clips videos across iPhone and iPad via iCloud. Videos are automatically uploaded and backed up to iCloud, so users can start a video on iPhone and finish it later on iPad. Photos and video clips in iCloud Photo Library are referenced by Clips, not copied, to make efficient use of iCloud storage. And Clips adds support for Shared iPad, so students can create amazing videos in both one-to-one and Shared iPad environments.
With Clips, users can create personal video messages, slideshows, school projects and mini-movies with amazing features like Live Titles that automatically generates animated captions from a user’s voice and 360-degree immersive Selfie Scenes on iPhone X. Clips lets users add personality to their videos with dozens of filters, animated stickers and full-screen animated posters. The app includes more than 60 soundtracks that automatically adjust to match the length of videos. And Clips uses the content and subjects in a video to make intelligent sharing suggestions via Messages, making it fast and simple to share with .... ]]>Applehttp://tagitnews.com/article/35404/iPhone-X-Arrives-in-South-Korea%2C-Thailand%2C-Turkey-and-10-More-Countries
2017-11-08 07:48:39
CUPERTINO, California - Apple announced iPhone X, the future of the smartphone, featuring a revolutionary new design with a stunning all-screen display, wireless charging and an incredible rear camera with dual optical image stabilization, will arrive in 13 additional countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa as well as Macau on Friday, November 24.
According to Apple, iPhone X features a gorgeous all-glass and stainless steel design with a beautiful 5.8-inch Super Retina display, A11 Bionic chip with neural engine for powerful machine learning, augmented reality and immersive 3D gaming experiences, wireless charging and Face ID, delivering an innovative and secure new way to unlock, authenticate and pay. The TrueDepth camera that enables Face ID brings Portrait mode with Portrait Lighting to the front camera for beautiful selfies with a depth-of-field effect and enables Animoji, which captures and analyzes over 50 different facial muscle movements to bring emoji to life in a fun new way. A redesigned rear camera with dual optical image stabilization includes a new color filter, deeper pixels, an improved Apple-designed image signal processor and features Portrait mode with Portrait Lighting, allowing customers to capture stunning photos and videos. The all-glass front and back on iPhone X feature the most durable glass ever in a smartphone in two beautiful finishes, silver and space gray.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found .... ]]>Applehttp://tagitnews.com/article/35401/World%E2%80%99s-Most-Powerful-Console%2C-Xbox-One-X%2C-Launches-Worldwide
2017-11-07 09:01:49
REDMOND, Wash. - The official launch of the world’s most powerful console, Xbox One X, brings a new era of immersive 4K gaming and 4K entertainment to gamers across the globe, a press release by Microsoft stated. With 40 percent more power than any other console, Xbox One X is where console gamers can play the best versions of games. The new console launches with the largest games lineup in Xbox history, with more than 70 Xbox One X Enhanced titles coming in the first week and more than 50 available on launch day, including “Forza Motorsport 7,” “Super Lucky’s Tale,” “Assassin’s Creed Origins,” “Middle-earth: Shadow of War,” and “FIFA 18.” The Xbox One games library consists of more than 1,300 games and more than 220 exclusives, all of which play best on Xbox One X. More titles are on the way like the hottest game on the planet “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” releasing as an Xbox One console launch exclusive Dec. 12, 2017.
“We built Xbox One X to give game creators the most powerful platform to bring their visions to life and to give gamers the best console to play the games of the past, present and future,” said Phil Spencer, head of gaming, Microsoft Corp. “We’re excited to offer gamers the world’s most powerful console with access to the largest games lineup in Xbox history — more than 1,300 titles and more than 220 exclusives.”
Microsoft saw incredibly strong preorder sales of Xbox One X, and expects the new console to be in high demand this holiday season. Gaming fans worldwide are encouraged to get the new console early before quantities run out.
The biggest global launch in Xbox history — now available in 35 markets
Across the world, fans flocked to special Xbox events to celebrate the highly anticipated launch of Xbox One X. Launch festivities were captured in a live broadcast from the Mixer NYC Studio on Mixer, Xbox.com, Twitch and Facebook Live, with key highlights including these:
• Inspired by the new Xbox racing game “Forza Motorsport 7,” the world’s first Xbox One X was hand-delivered in New Zealand via the fastest supercar in the country.
• In Australia, Xbox opened the doors to the Xbox Stay N’ Play, a boutique, gaming-themed experience situated in front of the iconic Sydney skyline in Pirrama Park.
• In Germany, Xbox set a new world record for the “World’s Largest Unboxing” after unboxing a giant Xbox One X in the Munich International Airport, and celebrated the launch with more than 700 fans in front of Berlin’s largest 4K theater screen.
• In the UK, some of the country’s biggest content creators and special guests were featured in an extended 14-hour Xbox livestream hosted at the Xbox One X Apartment in London.
• In France, thousands of fans tuned into an eight-hour Mixer livestream, which highlighted the various Xbox One X launch activities taking place in Paris, including the midnight opening at Fnac Champs Elysées.
• In Mexico City, hundreds of fans attended an Xbox One X midnight madness event hosted with Game Planet to celebrate the official launch of the highly anticipated console in Mexico.
• In collaboration with Canadian designer and artist Brian Espiritu, Xbox designed custom Xbox One X consoles inspired by the city of Toronto to give away to five lucky Xbox fans.
• In the lead up to launch, Xbox Live Sessions, an interactive, fan-focused livestream on Mixer, hosted celebrities including Chris Evans, James Corden, DJ Khaled, Chandler Riggs, and more to play their favorite games on Xbox One X. In addition, 16 years after helping Bill Gates introduce the original Xbox, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson surprised three Make-A-Wish kids with their own custom consoles before the official Xbox One X launch.
• At Microsoft Stores, including the flagship Microsoft Store on Fifth Avenue in New York, and other retailers worldwide, eager fans lined up more than 24 hours in advance of the console’s release to be among the first to get their hands on Xbox One X before it sells out worldwide. Shaquille O’Neal, Liam Payne, Ronda Rousey, Odell Beckham Jr., and Caleb McLaughlin made special appearances to surprise fans throughout the launch event at the Microsoft Store in New York.
Similar spectacular celebrations took place in additional Xbox One markets. Xbox One X is available now in 35 markets worldwide, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, UAE, UK, and US.
The power of Xbox One X
Xbox One X is built for true 4K gaming, with enough power to drive native 4K resolutions, High Dynamic Range and Wide Color Gamut into a pristine visual package beyond what’s capable in existing consoles. Existing Xbox One games play even better, with improved textures, smoother frame rates and faster load times, even on a 1080p TV. Xbox One X is also the only product in the world that packs all of the following features in one amazing device: 4K gaming for the world’s greatest games, a built-in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player, 4K streaming capabilities, High Dynamic Range support for gaming and video, and premium audio that puts gamers in the center of spatial sound with Dolby Atmos support. The craftsmanship in the Xbox One X hardware means it’s not only the world’s most powerful console, it’s also the smallest and most feature-rich Xbox ever.
Xbox One X Enhanced
Today, with the launch of Xbox One X, more than 50 popular Xbox One games are receiving free updates as part of the Xbox One X Enhanced program, with more than 70 total coming in the first week. Xbox One X Enhanced games have been updated or built specifically to take full advantage of the world’s most powerful console and its 4K UHD and HDR capabilities. More than 160 new and existing games will be enhanced for Xbox One X to take advantage of its full power, including “Forza Motorsport 7,” “Super Lucky’s Tale,” “Middle-earth: Shadow of War,” “Assassin’s Creed Origins,” “Halo Wars 2,” “Gears of War 4,” “Halo 5: Guardians,” “Minecraft,” “FIFA 18,” “Final Fantasy XV” and “Star Wars Battlefront II,” with more titles on the way like “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” releasing Dec. 12, 2017, as a console launch exclusive through the Xbox Game Preview program. More information on the Xbox One X Enhanced program can be found by visiting https://www.xbox.com/enhanced.
Xbox One family of devices
Xbox One X is the newest member of the Xbox One family of devices, which will coexist alongside Xbox One S. Only on Xbox One can gamers experience the best games of the past, present and future, with more than 1,300 Xbox One games and more than 220 exclusives playable across the entire Xbox One family of devices. Furthermore, all Xbox One accessories are also compatible across the family.
Whether playing on Xbox One X or Xbox One S, gamers are treated to gaming features exclusive to the Xbox platform:
• Xbox Live, the fastest, most reliable gaming network1.
• 4K UHD Blu-ray, 4K streaming and 4K gaming
• Xbox Game Pass, a monthly membership that provides unlimited access to more than 100 games.
How to get an Xbox One X
Xbox One X is available in 35 Xbox One markets and retails at US$499, £449, €499, C$599 and A$6492, with additional markets launching soon. The latest on where to buy Xbox One X can be found at xbox.com/xboxonex. Local retailers, including Microsoft Store, also have more information.
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
1 Independent IHS Markit study, June/July 2017. Tested on Xbox One versus PlayStation 4 on five of the top- selling games with matchmaking; results may vary, not an endorsement.
2 Prices are estimated retail prices; actual retail prices may .... ]]>Microsofthttp://tagitnews.com/article/35399/Swisscom-offers-Gigabit-LTE-with-Radio-Dot-System
2017-11-06 10:35:11
STOCKHOLM - Ericsson and Swisscom are bringing gigabit connectivity to Swiss consumers, starting with the deployment of the Ericsson Radio Dot System in the operator’s retail stores. According to Ericsson, this is a big leap toward supplying greater quality coverage and capacity in hard-to-reach places such as garages, elevators and commercial buildings, and delivering a true gigabit experience to all Swisscom subscribers across the entire network.
In Swisscom shops across Switzerland, gigabit speeds were achieved by the Ericsson Radio Dot System, with carrier aggregation over 3 LTE frequency bands, 4x4 MIMO and 256QAM, delivering up to 1.2Gbps in downlink capacity.
The performance delivered in the stores enables Swisscom customers to experience the full capabilities of the latest cellular technology on the market, including smartphones, tablets and SIM cards. By end of 2017, Gigabit LTE will be introduced in 15 Swisscom Shops, with the Bern, Freiburg and Zurich locations already equipped with this speed.
Dirk Wierzbitzki, Head of Products and Marketing, Swisscom, says: “Delivering Gigabit LTE in our retail stores allows us to showcase the incredible performance of the overall Swisscom network at our key customer touchpoint. Subscribers and potential subscribers can experience first-hand our products on our Gigabit network. We are the first Swiss provider to present 5G-ready applications with our partner Ericsson, establishing the foundation for the further digitization of Switzerland.”
Nishant Batra, Head of Product Area Network Infrastructure, Ericsson, says: “The Radio Dot System is a key building block in our Gigabit LTE offering on the road to 5G, and we are demonstrating the capabilities of the offering on the Swisscom network in retail outlets to showcase what subscribers can expect today and in the future.”
With its Radio Dot System, Ericsson is redefining the concept of indoor small cells with the industry’s most cost-effective and modular high-performance indoor radio system, addressing a wider range of indoor environments with a common solution.
Ericsson Radio Dot System has been deployed by more than 120 operators in over 70 countries around the world, in venues including airports, hotels, hospitals, shopping malls and office .... ]]>Ericsson http://tagitnews.com/article/35398/Deadline-Extended-for-Small-Business-Video-Competition
2017-11-02 16:55:40
GENEVA - The deadline for the video competition launched by Google, in partnership with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the WTO, has been extended until November 17, 2017. According to the WTO, the “Small Businesses Going Global Video Challenge” invites small businesses to send a short video showing how they have used internet technology to participate in international trade and reach customers worldwide.
The winning entries will be announced at the WTO's 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in December 2017. The company submitting the best video wins a trip to a digital masterclass at Google.
The contest is intended to help show how micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) can leverage internet technologies – such as cloud services, apps, payment solutions, communication and productivity tools, real-time analytics, translation tools and video platforms – to become global exporters.
Small businesses interested in participating in the video competition are required to submit a short video of no more than four minutes shot using a mobile phone or other device.
The competition is the first successful proposal under the ICC/WTO “Small Business Champions” .... ]]>WTOhttp://tagitnews.com/article/35397/Microsoft-and-Attunity-Announce-Strategic-Partnership-for-Data-Migration
2017-11-02 16:48:53
REDMOND, Wash., and BURLINGTON, Mass. - Attunity Ltd. and Microsoft Corp. announced an expanded strategic partnership for enabling data migration and replication initiatives, according to a press release by Microsoft. With this partnership, Attunity is working with Microsoft to offer a new product, Attunity Replicate for Microsoft Migrations, which is designed to facilitate and accelerate migrations from various database systems to the Microsoft data platform.
Microsoft and Attunity have been business partners for over 20 years, and with this new enhanced collaboration the two companies will build on the history with new scenarios for data replication to accommodate a broad range of data integration requirements including migration, analytics, Data Lake and Big Data initiatives.
“Our expanded strategic partnership with Microsoft enables us to jointly engage customers worldwide to drive large-scale migrations to Azure and the Microsoft data platform,” said Shimon Alon, chairman and chief executive officer at Attunity. “Microsoft and Attunity share a vision to help users get value from their data leveraging the platform of their choice. Together we can unlock incredible opportunities for innovation, providing our customers with a universal platform for high-speed data replication to support many important business initiatives.”
“Microsoft is committed to meeting our customers’ needs today, while helping them bridge to the future. Attunity Replicate for Microsoft Migrations offers a robust solution for our customers to replicate their data to the Microsoft data platform, including SQL Server 2017 and Azure data services,” said John “JG” Chirapurath, general manager, Data Platform Marketing at Microsoft. “This expedites and simplifies near-zero downtime data migrations with ongoing replication so that our customers can maximize the value of their data.”
Database migration from Oracle to Microsoft SQL Server and Azure Data Services
Businesses globally will be able to use Attunity Replicate for Microsoft Migrations to facilitate and simplify migrations from a broad range of commercial and open-source databases, including Oracle, Amazon Redshift, Teradata, IBM Netezza and PostgreSQL to a broad range of Microsoft data platform targets, across on-premises and Azure. Endpoints include SQL Server 2017, now available on Linux, Docker containers and Windows, as well as Azure SQL Database, SQL Server on a VM in Azure, Azure SQL Database Managed Instance, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Azure Database for MySQL, and Azure Database for PostgreSQL.
A free license of Attunity Replicate for Microsoft Migrations is provided for 12 months, to allow each migration. Customers requiring extended migration periods and additional data sources can purchase such licenses directly from .... ]]>TAGIT News Agencyhttp://tagitnews.com/article/35393/Arab-States-Broadcasting-Union-selects-Abu-Ghazaleh-as-Chairman-of-the-Board-of-Trustees-
2017-10-30 11:27:05
Special to TAG-IT News Agency
AMMAN – The Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) selected Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh as its Chairman of trusts.
In response to being selected as ASBU Chairman, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh expressed his appreciation for this position, stressing the importance of ASBU and its role in serving Arab efforts in the fields of media and communications in addition to its distinguished role in preparing the new generation to international academic and technical standards, in order for them to contribute to the development of Media systems for individuals and institutions based on its belief in the importance of broadcasting and its impact on social behavior.
Due to the importance of the media and its role as a fourth authority, Abu-Ghazaleh pointed out that it is necessary for the media to keep up with various technological developments that serve its work, especially in light of rapid global technological progress which is essential for the development of media in all its forms and serves as a tool for linking media institutions. He also stressed the importance of providing the information to the highest standards of credibility, professionalism and accuracy.
Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh emphasized that Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization is fully prepared to provide support and assistance to ASBU in various fields, in order to serve Arab media through its professional and technical services and through its professional experts in different fields.
In a speech delivered by Mr. Mohammed Al-Adayla, ASBU Chairman, he confirmed that the selection of Abu-Ghazaleh was due to his vast knowledge and intellectual potential which will add "quality and quantity to the process of ASBU and its name, on Arab and international levels."
ASBU is a professional Arab organization established by a decision of the Council of Arab Ministers of Information and operates under the umbrella of the League of Arab States as one of associations and organizations specialized in media affairs. ASBU has an observer seat in the Council of Arab Ministers and a member of the Executive Office of the League of Arab States. ASBU provides a set of services, the most important of which, is training in all areas related to the media sector. It also organizes conferences related to media, and has a specialized center for media studies and .... ]]>http://tagitnews.com/cache_news/news_thumb/e4576c95b0abe844f81594703ba34e70_w120_h300_cp_sc.jpgTAGIT News Agencyhttp://tagitnews.com/article/35390/Sony-Announces-Development-of-New-G-Master%E2%84%A2-400mm-F2.8-Super-Telephoto-Full-Frame-E-mount-Lens
2017-10-29 08:27:25
NEW YORK - Sony Electronics, a worldwide leader in digital imaging and the world's largest image sensor manufacturer, announced in a press release the development of the long-awaited FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS Super-Telephoto lens, with a target launch date in Summer 2018.
The new lens will feature the incredible high-resolution and spectacularly beautiful bokeh of Sony's acclaimed line of flagship G Master™ series lenses, while also offering a far-reaching 400mm focal length and F2.8 large aperture. This combination will deliver a new elevated shooting experience for all professional sports, news and wildlife photographers looking to capture all of the decisive moments with higher image quality.
Sony will continue to evolve their lens lineup in order to meet the demands of all types of photographers, videographers and multi-media creators, with many different offerings to maximize the power of the innovative α™ camera lineup.
Additional details and specifications on the new FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS Super-Telephoto Lens will be released at a later date.·
A variety of exclusive stories and exciting new content focused on Sony's extensive lineup of digital imaging products can be found atwww.alphauniverse.com, Sony's community site built to educate, inspire and showcase all fans and customers of the Sony α .... ]]>Sony Electronicshttp://tagitnews.com/article/35389/Microsoft-Cloud-Continues-to-Grow%2C-Powers-First-Quarter-Results
2017-10-29 08:25:31
REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. announced in a press release the following results for the quarter ended September 30, 2017:
• Revenue was $24.5 billion and increased 12%
• Operating income was $7.7 billion and increased 15%
• Net income was $6.6 billion and increased 16%
• Diluted earnings per share was $0.84 and increased 17%
“This quarter we exceeded $20 billion in commercial cloud ARR, outpacing the goal we set just over two years ago,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “Our results reflect accelerating innovation and increased usage and engagement across our businesses as customers continue to choose Microsoft to help them transform.”
Microsoft returned $4.8 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends in the first quarter of fiscal year 2018. During the quarter, the company announced an 8% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share.
“Our strong start to the fiscal year reflects the impact of our continued investment in product innovation and sales capacity to capture expanding market opportunities,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Microsoft.
Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $8.2 billion and increased 28% (up 28% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:
• Office commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 10% (up 10% in constant currency) driven by Office 365 commercial revenue growth of 42% (up 42% in constant currency)
• Office consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 12% (up 10% in constant currency) and Office 365 consumer subscribers increased to 28.0 million
• Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 13% (up 12% in constant currency) driven by Dynamics 365 revenue growth of 69% (up 69% in constant currency)
• LinkedIn contributed revenue of $1.1 billion during the quarter
Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $6.9 billion and increased 14% (up 13% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:
• Server products and cloud services revenue increased 17% (up 17% in constant currency) driven by Azure revenue growth of 90% (up 89% in constant currency)
• Enterprise Services revenue increased 1% (0% in constant currency) with growth in Premier Support Services offset by declines in custom support agreements
Revenue in More Personal Computing was $9.4 billion and relatively unchanged (down 1% in constant currency), with the following business highlights:
• Windows OEM revenue increased 4% (up 4% in constant currency), ahead of the overall PC market
• Windows commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 7% (up 6% in constant currency) driven by annuity revenue growth
• Search advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs increased 15% (up 15% in constant currency) driven by higher revenue per search and search volume
• Surface revenue increased 12% (up 11% in constant currency) driven by sales of the new Surface Laptop
• Gaming revenue increased 1% (0% in constant currency) with Xbox software and services revenue growth of 21% (up 20% in constant currency) offset by lower hardware .... ]]>Microsoft